ett
/ɛt/
The Swedish word for one is ett or en.
Meaning: cardinal number 1 (num)
Ways to say it
| Swedish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ett | /ɛt/ | |
| en | /ɛnː/ /ɛŋ/ |
common gender |
This phrase is used to express the cardinal number 1. Depending on the noun being described, the form will change to match the grammatical gender of that noun.
Which one should you use?
You must choose between en and ett based on the grammatical gender of the noun you are referring to. Use en when the noun is common gender and ett when the noun is neuter gender.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Related to these numbers is the noun etta, which means a digit or figure and its definite form ettan can be used informally to mean 'the one' (digit). Note that en can also function as an indefinite personal pronoun meaning 'one' or 'any person' in the sense of 'man'.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɛt/
Did you know?
- The Swedish word en shares the same root as the word 'alone' in English, as both derive from the concept of 'one'.
- The word ettan is frequently used in Swedish to refer to the first floor of a building or the first grade in school.
- The word en shares its ancient roots with the English word 'one', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₁óynos.
Examples in context
- Kan jag få en?Can I have one?This sentence is useful for practicing the use of en in a request.Tatoeba #4320119 by richke, translation #2470629 by Hybrid
- Tom vill ha en.Tom wants one.This sentence demonstrates how to use en to express desire.Tatoeba #3711474 by herrsilen, translation #3168105 by CK
- Ge mig en till.Give me one more.This sentence shows how to use en when asking for an additional item.Tatoeba #4339976 by richke, translation #3151507 by CK
- Jag har bara en penna.I only have one pen.
- Kan jag få ett stycke tårta?Can I have one piece of cake?
- Hon ska resa till en stad i Sverige.She is going to travel to one city in Sweden.
- Vi behöver bara en flaska vatten.We only need one bottle of water.
- Jag har köpt ett äpple till dig.I bought one apple for you.
- Vi behöver ett kilo köttfärs till middagen.We need one kilogram of ground meat for dinner.
- Min bror har bara ett paraply.My brother only has one umbrella.
- 310 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alice and Erik are at a cafe.
- AliceJag vill ha ett kaffe.I want one coffee.
- ErikVill du ha ett till?Do you want one more?
- AliceNej, bara ett.No, just one.
- ErikOkej, då kommer det.Okay, then it's coming.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “one” translations and entries ett, en, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries en, ett, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
